Book Review: THE FIRST LOVE COOKIE CLUB

The First Love Cookie Club, by Lori Wilde was my favorite type of book to read. I picked it up, instantly got involved and finished it in two days. I wish all books read this easily.

Summary:

The prologue introduces us to little Sarah Collier- a fifteen-year-old girl who has dreamed of her true love every Christmas Eve since she was eight. The Kismet Cookies, her grandmother’s tradition, are the granters of these lovely dreams; and sweet Sarah trusts their magic wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, her true love is the boy next door- twenty-year-old Travis Walker. What adorable, chubby, brace-faced Sarah doesn’t realize is that Travis has gone and knocked up the new girl in town, and the shotgun wedding is that Christmas Day. Finding the invitation in her grandmother’s mailbox, Sarah can’t control herself. She runs directly to the church, donning reindeer antlers and her favorite Christmas sweater, to stop the wedding of the man of her dreams. Destiny can’t do her wrong. He was meant to be with her- the Kismet Cookies told her so.

As you can imagine, things don’t go as planned.

Flash forward. Sarah has written a best-selling children’s book that has warmed the hearts of children all over the world- and one special little girl wants nothing more than to meet her favorite author for Christmas. The letter came from Twilight, Texas- Sarah’s home town- and when her agent realizes this, he can’t resist the PR gift that has landed in their laps, forcing her to face the shame she’s avoided for the past decade. Of course, a lot has changed in the past nine years, including Travis Walker. Can Sarah finally let go of the past and accept that the Kismet Cookies’ magic would never lead her wrong?

What I liked:

The book read like a Lifetime Christmas movie. Curl up by the fire, grab a blanket and munch on some Kismet Cookies (the recipe is in the back), while you enjoy this holiday read. It had everything I love in a novel- romance, sex (gasp!), and progressive intrigue.

Also, it’s part of a series, but can be read alone. I’m sure there are tons of Easter eggs I missed because I haven’t read the rest. I’ll have to get on that now.

What I didn’t like:

The ending was a little messy. Sure, the romance arc was wrapped up in a tight little bow, but the subplots were left wanting. Most of these had to do with forgiveness. For example: Sarah and her parents have had a tumultuous relationship, but with two sentences of dialogue, they’re on great terms again. Another character forgives an unforgiveable act just because Sarah explains why said person did what they did. Without spoiling the ending, the dialogue is like this:

Sarah- “You should forgive them… this is why…”

Other person- “Oh. That makes sense. I guess that explains it. I’ll cut them some slack.”

And as I said before, this was an UNFORGIVEABLE act. Nobody is that kind and forgiving. Especially after they just ranted about how terrible of a human being that other person was.

Also, the sex scenes seemed a little forced and out of place. If you know me, it hurts for me to say that. I LOVE a good sex scene. That being said, I still enjoyed them (ducking my head in shame now).

Should you read The First Love Cookie Club?

I guess that depends on how much you like Lifetime Christmas movies. For me, they’re a guilty pleasure synonymous with holiday tradition, so this book was a perfect choice. I only wish I’d saved it for the colder months!

Special Extras:

Apparently, the town of Twilight, Texas is based on a real town. Granbury, Texas holds a weekend each Christmas based on the fictional town of Twilight to honor Lori Wilde and her series of books.

Also, this book has been opted for a TV movie, so maybe I’ll get my Lifetime version after all!

What do you think? Will you pick up this cutesy Christmas romance for a read? Let me know in the comments section.